Today’s SMBs face a whole range of challenges, including those related to the pandemic. One such challenge in the era of remote and hybrid working is keeping the entire team connected, which often requires investing a large amount of time and money. Changing employee expectations, diverse, remote working teams, and increasingly complex hacking attacks pose other challenges and require businesses to act accordingly and be flexible. This is where “as a Service” models can help. In this article, we focus on Workplace as a Service and explain its advantages for businesses and why it should be in the every Managed Service Provider’s portfolio.
What is Workplace as a Service?
In the simplest terms, Workplace as a Service is an extended version of Software as a Service (SaaS) combined with Device as a Service (DaaS). Thanks to WaaS, any the required hardware does not have to be purchased, only leased. At the same time, the software is delivered via the cloud.
Hardware, software, cloud services, financing and support can be combined in a single package offering greater budget flexibility.
Benefits of WaaS for SMBs
The most obvious advantage of a modern Workplace as a Service solution is the fact that there are no acquisition costs. Another real bonus is that WaaS is saving time and resources for businesses and enables employees to focus on other projects in the company,. Plus, WaaS packages can be expanded over time as businesses grows.
Other major advantages of the solution are:
- Cost transparency: WaaS costs are based on fixed monthly installments that include all contracted services. So the company only pays for what it uses .
- Maintenance: Any system updates and device maintenance are also included in the price. This saves the company time and ensures that everything is always properly updated, avoiding, for example, the problem of legacy software.
- Personalisation: With Workplace as a Service, the personalisation of hardware and software is extremely easy. This is useful, for example, when a new employee joins the team and needs a new laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Both the hardware and the software will be ready for use almost instantly.
- Flexibility and scalability: The most important period for any newly founded business is its first few years. The WaaS package is very flexible and can easily be adapted to the needs of a particular company. In the beginning, for testing purposes, a business can opt for the basic version and, at a later date, add other packages to it, adapting the model according to its needs. This allows young companies to focus on key tasks instead of wasting time and resources.
- Security: Another argument in favour of the WaaS model is secure usage. All information entered into the system is encrypted and stored on special servers, protected from unauthorised access and destruction.
The WaaS model streamlines hardware and software acquisition processes as much as possible, providing an attractive alternative to the traditional, transactional form.
Workplace as a Service has become a really hot trend over the past few years. It is redefining the way software and hardware are managed among SMEs and beyond. From a financial point of view, the model allows investment costs of the purchase to be shifted to operational costs, while providing all employees with the most modern and functional work tools available
ALSO enables partners easy implementation of the WaaS solution into their own portfolio and to offer it to their customers in various industries. The main target group is customers with overloaded IT departments or without their own, in-house IT department. The ALSO Cloud Marketplace (ACMP) is the central platform for all workplace-related topics such as hardware, software, and services.
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